Heat insulating screen



Aug. 21, 1962 4 s. F. REED ETAL 9 HEAT INSULATING SCREEN Filed July 11, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS,

STANLEY F REED EMMETT F DEADY ATTORNEY Aug. 21, 1962 s. F. REED ETAL 3,050,279

HEAT INSULATING SCREEN Filed July 11, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IIIIIIIIIII'I. 74111011011111!!! VIIIIIll/Illln INVENTORS, STANLEY F R550 EMMETT FOE/my BY% W ATTORNEY Aug. 21, 1962 s. F. REED ETAL 3,050,279

HEAT INSULATING SCREEN Filed July 11, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 WVENTORS, STANLEY F REED EMMETT F DEADY ATTORNEY 3,050,279 HEAT INSULATING SCREEN Stanley F. Reed, Falls Church, and Emmett Francis Deady, Arlington, Va., assignors to Reed Research, Inc, Washington, D.C., a corporation of Delaware Filed July 11, 1958, Ser. No. 748,080 2 Claims. (Cl. 24511) This invention relates to insect screens, and more particularly to such a screen which is opaque to a maximum of direct rays from the sun.

Much of the sun light which enters a building is heat in the form of infra-red energy, which is emitted by the sun and readily passes through conventional insect screening, and to a lesser extent through glass windows. Although some energy is reflected by the glass, most of this radiation is either transmitted or absorbed, and the resulting heat is transmitted inside the building.

In order to meet this problem, the prior art has devised solar screening with a relatively flat cross-section wire substituted in one direction for the conventional round wire. The flat wire is arranged in parallel planes at an angle with the plane of the screen, and somewhat resembles a Venetian blind. In practice, this type of screening is very diflicult and expensive to manufacture because of problems inherent in the weaving of flat Wire and fixing it in position.

The present invention overcomes these difficulties by using ordinary round cross-section screening wire, which is relatively easy and inexpensive to weave, as its raw material. The filler wires are then flattened between their intersections with the warp wires of the cloth, and these flattened-out areas are then twisted through an arc, forming a plurality of louvers which produce the sun-shielding effect. The warp wires may then be compressed to produce adjacent flat areas on the warp and the filler, and thus retard the rotation back of the twisted filler. The present invention also provides alternative processes, described in detail hereinafter.

Accordingly, one of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide a cheaper and more eflicient method of manufacture for solar screening.

' This and other objects of the invention will be fully apparent to those skilled in the art by examining the following specification and the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan View of conventional screening.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of conventional screening after the filler has been rolled between each warp wire.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of conventional screening after the filler has been pressed or forged between the warp wires.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. 3 at the plane 44.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 3 after the filler has been rotated.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. 5 at the plane 66.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. 3 illustrating how the filler is rotated.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. 6 at the plane 88.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of an apparatus illustrating a process of simultaneously flattening and rotating.

FIG. 10 is an illustration of a process for flattening the filler as it is originally woven into the wire fabric.

FIG. 11 is an illustration of a process for twisting the flattened filler by kinking the warp wires.

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. 5 at the plane 1212 illustrating the interlocking relationship of the warp and filler wires.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown an illustration 3,65%,279 Patented Aug. 21, 1962 of conventional insect screening, woven in under-and-over relationship. The warp wires 2 are those which are Woven into the cloth at a longitudinal direction, and the filler wires 4 are woven at a transverse direction. Warp wires 2 are highly crimped around filler wires 4 due to the process of weaving, but filler wires 4 lie substantially in a single plane.

If the filler of the screening is rolled, between the warp wires, the apparatus shown in FIG. 2 results, the filler being flattened and made Wider, with the increase in width occurring on one side of the tiller wire. Alternatively, the wire may be pressed or forged, in which case the flattening is substantially even and symmetrical on both sides of the wire as shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 4 illustrates the cross-section of the apparatus of FIG. 3 at the plane 4 l. Filler wires 4 remain substantially in one plane while the crimping of warp wires 2 is as shown. Each filler wire is gripped by the warp wires at each place where its cross-section remains circular, the flattened louvers occurring between these portions.

Each filler wire may now be rotated or twisted by a process to be described hereinafter, resulting in the apparatus shown in FIG. 5. The cross-section at plane 66 shown in FIG. 6 illustrates how the suns radiation is prevented from passing through the screen when the elevation angle of the sun is greater than that shown at 6. Thus, a large part of the suns heat is excluded while the visibility horizontally through the screen is substantially unchanged.

FIG. 8 illustrates how the warp wires nest Within the trough formed between each of the louvers in the fiattened filler wire. The slats are thus held in place by the warp wires by friction. Although this illustration shows only a single warp wire between two adjacent louvers, it will be clear that two such warp wires may be provided between adjacent louvers, arranged to pass through the troughs on opposite sides.

FIG. 7 illustrates one method of rotating or twisting the filler wires after they are flattened. The Woven fabric composed of warp wires 2 and filler wires 4- is moved in the direction of arrow 8 by any suitable conveying means. Initially the louvers of the unrotated filler wires are in the position at 10-. As the fabric advances to a position where a filler wire is between fingers 12 and 14-, finger 12 moves down into contact with slat 18 and exerts a counterclockwise movement on slat 18. Simultaneously, finger 14 moves up and exerts a similar movement on slat 16. Fingers similar to '16 and 18 simultaneously exert a corresponding torque on the filler wire at every louver along the entire length of the wire. As a result, the filler Wire is rotated within the bearing surfaces formed by the warp wires, each louver on the filler wire then assuming the position shown at 16 and 18. After each wire is rotated, fingers 12 and 14 (and all their associated fingers) retract and permit the fabric to advance to a position where the next filler wire can be rotated. The process shown in FIG. 7, though illustrated only for pressed or forged filler wires, can also be used for rolled filler wire, like that illustrated in FIG. 2, in which case fingers will be required only on one side of each filler wire.

FIG. 9 shows an alternative process whereby the filler wire is flattened and twisted simultaneously by a progressive coining process. The woven fabric is conveyed in the direction of arrow 20 until a filler wire is positioned under the first stage of a series of coining tools formed by an upper tool 22 and a lower tool 24. When a wire is in position 26, the tools are driven together by a suitable source of power, and the wire is slightly flattened as shown. The tools then retract, the fabric advances to the next stage, the tools again close, and the wire is flattened still more and simultaneously rotated through an angle as shown at 28. In the next two stages, 30 and 32,

the filler wire is progressively flattened and simultaneously rotated, so that it emerges as the finished fabric 34 with the louvers of the desired width and angle. As each filler wire progresses to the next stage, the wire immediately behind takes its place in the previous stage.

The coining tools 22 and 24 extend across the entire width of the fabric, and are provided with grooves to accept the warp wires and leave them unaffected. In some cases, however, it is desirable to have the last coining stage bottom on the warp wires to cause them to be flattened against the filler wires at the cross-over points as shown in FIG. 12. This will tend to prevent any rotation of the filler wires away from their desired angular position. It will naturally be understood that although a coining process has been illustrated, either a swedging process or an upsetting process may also be conveniently used, which could easily be arranged by one skilled in the art in the light of the above description.

FIG. 12 illustrates the relationship of warp wire 2 and filler wire 4 at the cross-over points after flattening to produce adjacent flat areas 3 thereon.

In FIG. 10, another alternative process of manufacture is illustrated in which the filler wires are flattened just prior. to the time of being woven into the fabric. The warp wires are shown at 36 and 38 as they come into the loom, and are guided by shades 40 and 42. Shuttle 44 carries bobbin 46, ofi of which the filler wire 48 feeds into the shed, between the planes described by the warp wires. As filler wire 48 is fed into the shed, it is caught by jaw 50 which moves up into the position shown after the shuttle '44 passes. J aw 50 is attached to lever 52 which is driven by cam 54 rotating about pivot 56. As jaw 50 moves forward rotating about pivot 56, it squeezes the filler wire against a second jaw which is also rotatable about pivot 58, but the lever 62 of which is restrained by latch 68. Lever 62 is driven by cam 64 rotating about pivot 66.

As cam 54 rotates, jaws 50 and 60 squeeze the filler wire into a flat louver, and continue to squeeze it flatter until lever 52 is forced by cam 54 past the latch release 70. When this occurs, spring 72 releases latch 68, and lever 62 is moved by cam 64 until jaw 6ft is fully retracted. At the same time, cam 54 continues to move lever 52, causing jaw 50 to beat the flattened filler wire tightly into the shed, and holding it thus in position causing warp wires 36 and 38' to kink around the flattened filler Wire and thus hold it in position. As cams 54 and 64 continue to rotate, springs 74 and 76 urge levers 52 and 62 back to their original position, and as lever 52 returns, it rides up on the slanting edge of latch release causing latch 68 to again restrain lever 62. Lever 52 is drawn by its spring 76 to a position so as to remove jaw 50 from the path of shuttle 44.

What has been described above takes place 'at only one portion of the filler wire between adjacent warp wires, it being understood that jaws 50 and 60, and their associated mechanism are duplicated for every portion of filler wire between two adjacent warp wires across the entire width of the fabric. All the jaws act simultaneously in the manner described, flattening the wire, and placing it in the exact angular position desired. The result at 78 is a woven fabric of the type described with louvers preventing the entrance of direct rays from the sun.

Although the above embodiments of our invention have been described with a single warp wire between each of the slats in the filler Wire, it is desirable in some cases to have two closely spaced warp wires between each louver. The cross-sections would then be similar to FIG. 6 and FIG. 8, but in FIG. 8 the vacant spaces between the louvers shown in FIG. 8 would be filled with two additional warp wires. This would result in an increased amount of friction on the filler wire exerted by the warp Wires by their contact and increase resistance to rotation away from the desired angular position. It will be immediately obvious to one skilled in the art how such an additional 4 warp wire could be accommodated in the performance of all the described processes. Referring now to FIG. 11, still another process of forming substantially the same product is illustrated. In this process, the fabric is woven with the correct distance between the warp wires, but with the filler wires spread farther apart, as between filler wires 80 and 82. Louver portions have been previously flattened in these Wires, the planes of which are parallel to the plane of the fabric as shown. The warp wires directly above filler wire 80 are then gripped between upper clamp block 8 4 and lower clamp block 85. Each block is compressed against its respective warp wire by a movable member 88 or 90 which can be actuated by member 92 or 94. A set of bearings 96 and 98 is provided between each movable member and its respective clamp block. These bearings permit the fabric to move in a horizontal direction parallel to the warp wires, but retain a clamped relationship between the warp wires and the filler wire therebetween. Similar clamping blocks 100 and 102 are provided at filler wire 8'4 as shown. These clamps also permit horizontal movement of the clamped portion while holding it.

Between these two series of clamps, a third set of clamps 164 and 106 is provided to grip warp wires and filler wire 82 therebetween. The clamp then rotates clockwise about axis 108 which coincides with the center of filler wire 82, thus bringing flattened portions of this filler wire into the described angular relationship as shown at 84. The means for rotating this clamp has not been shown since apparatus for doing so is conventional.

Thus, each filler wire is rotated as the two adjacent filler wires are clamped tightly between warp wires. As the rotation takes place, the warp wires are drawn around the filler wire and shorten the distance between adjacent filler wires. Thus, the adjacent filler wires slide toward the one being twisted on their sliding blocks. As a result of each filler wire being twisted clockwise, the warp wires on top of the filler wire being twisted are doubled up between it and the filler Wire last twisted, and the warp wire assumes a configuration by which it is doubled up and straight between alternate filler Wires. This configuration gives added resilience to the complete fabric, which tends to keep it from bowing and sagging when placed in service.

Having thus described certain preferred methods and embodiments of our invention, we do not desire to be limited thereto, and many changes and modifications will doubtless occur to those skilled in the art within the scope of our invention as defined only in the appended claims.

We claim:

, 1. In a fabric of the type described, comprising; a first plurality of wires of substantially circular cross-section substantially parallel to each other; a second plurality of wires substantially parallel to each other and transverse to said first plurality, each of said wires of said second plurality having along its length alternate flat and circular cross-sections; said first and second pluralities woven in over-and-under relationship with each other, with each wire of said first plurality contacting each wire of said second plurality at a circular cross-section and all of said flat cross-sections being parallel, the improvement comprising; said circular cross-sections of both said first and second pluralities being deformed slightly at their points of mutual contact to provide adjacent flat areas thereon and an interlocking anti-rotation engagement therebetween, thereby maintaining the parallel alignment of said flat cross-sections.

2. In a fabric of the type described, comprising; a first plurality of wires of substantially circular cross-section substantially parallel to each other; a second plurality of wires substantially parallel to each other and transverse to said first plurality, each of said wires of said second plurality having along its length alternate flat and circular cross-sections, said flat cross-sections having width and thickness dimensions; said first and second pluralities woven in over-and-under relationship with each other, with each Wire of said first plurality contacting each wire of said second plurality at a circular cross-section, and all of said flat cross-sections being parallel, the improvement comprising; said flat cross-sections of said second plurality being centered on said circular cross-sections of said second plurality so that said width and thickness dimensions are symmetrically oriented with respect to said circular cross-sections, and said circular cross-sections of both said first and second pluralities being deformed slightly at their points of mutual contact to provide adjacent flat areas thereon and an interlocking antirotation engagement therebetween, thereby maintaining the parallel alignment of said flat cross-sections.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Gleason Nov. 15, Garllus June 6, Illch Mar. 5, Brown et a1. Aug. 1, Williams June 28, Pearne Mar. 19, Ewing Mar. 19, Young Oct. 7, Warp Dec. 27, 

